Gods and Godmen of India Read Online Free PDF Page B

Likewise, Hinduism has many sects; but their basic tenets are the same.
    It is also wrong to say that Hindus do not believe in one God. It is correct that, according to Hindu mythologies, there are perhaps 33 crores of gods – Devatas and Devis. But even according to these mythologies the three main deities are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. But if one were to go deeper into the matter it is clear that three gods are, in fact, only different names of the One Supreme Being. That is why the Upanishad says:
Ekam Sad Vipra Bahudha vaaanti!
(God is one. But Brahmins, i.e. the learned, call him by different names.)
    “There are however some sects of Hinduism which do no believe in Devis and Davatas and worship one God – that too as a formless Being. Take the case of Arya Samaj which is very much a part of Hinduism. Arya Samajis believe in one God, like the Sikhs. They recognize only one Holy Book – the Vedas; like the Sikhs, they believe neither in caste nor in idol and image worship. According to the criteria laid down by you, Sikhs should then be closer to Arya Samajis than to Muslims as, apart from what has been stated above, Arya Samajis and in fact all the sects of Hinduism have many other things in common with Sikhism. Hindus believe in the doctrine of rebirth and the theory of ‘Karma’. Sikhs also believe in these philosophies. In fact, all religions that have branched off from Hinduism like Jainism and Buddhism believe in the doctrine of rebirth and theory of ‘Karma’. Other religions, not having originated in India like Christianity, Judaism and Islam, however, do not believe in the doctrine of rebirth. To me, therefore, your conclusions that Sikhs are closer to Muslims than to Hindus, appear to be ill-founded.
    “I would like to point out that prior to judging how close the two religions are, one has to examine not only what the respective scriptures ordain but one has also to study the ways of life – customs and rituals of the people belonging to these religions. If one were to analyse from that angle, one will find that Sikhism is much closer to Hinduism than to any other religion. I shall give a few instances from your book in support of this:
    “You have stated that most of the Hindu families of the Punjab respect the Gurus and read the Granth Sahib. Which other religious communities do that?
    “Till recently, many Hindu families of the Punjab brought up one of their sons as a Sikh. Why? Surely because Hindus did not differentiate between the Hindu and the Sikh religions.
    “Many Hindus willingly gave their daughters in marriage to Sikhs. Likewise, Sikhs too gave their daughters in marriage to Hindus. Which other communities did so?
    “When the purely religious and pious Sikh community turned militant, one of its missions was to save Hinduism and help in its upliftment and propagation. One of the Gurus said:
Jagas dharam Hindu, sakal Bhand bhajae
(Hindu religion should awake. Let all the false doctrines flee.)
    “Would the Guru have expressed the hope about the awakening of Hinduism if he regarded Sikhism as separate from Hinduism?
    “The Granth Sahib contains a larger number of verses from Hindu saints and scriptures than from any other religion. This shows the close affinity of Sikhism to Hinduism.”
    “You have rightly pointed out that the teaching of the Gurus was against the caste system; yet the caste system is still prevalent amongst Sikhs as in the case of Hindus. Sikhs also venerate the cow and abhor eating beef. If the Granth Sahib is silent on this, the reason may be that the non-slaughter of kine was so apparently a part of the religion and so much a way of life with Hindus that it did not seem to be necessary for any of the Gurus who, in opinion, did not differentiate between Hinduism and Sikhism, to specifically ordain that cows should not be slaughtered. Guru Gobind Singh did regret the slaughter of kine and advocated the protection of cows, as you have admitted. That the killing of